Glad to see Parise sign the one year deal for $6M. Now we have to see Parise play and hope he is the Parise of old with his surgically repaired knee. I have no doubts that Parise will do well this season. Also have no doubts that he will get his longterm contract extension after January. Lou is not stupid and he knows Parise has said and wants to be here in new Jersey for the rest of his career. So not going to worry because Parise will get his longterm contract extension way before July 1st and the TDL. Lou knows what he has to get it done and now with a lot of money under the salary cap Parise will be taken care of. Too many fans are just worrying over nothing right now. Parise is re-signed and very happy he is going to be back for this season.

Ive been way more calm since i saw that it was probably due to financial problems that lou went for the 1 year thing... It explains why they havent tried to get a deal done until last minute.

But... Why is everyone so calm and confident now that we will sign him long-term next season and all? Are we SURE that the shares will be sold and that were gonna be solid financially and everything? Until then its still looking pretty bad... If the moves we saw yesterday were really to save us hard money and not to prepare a deal well were in more trouble than we may think....

Ive been way more calm since i saw that it was probably due to financial problems that lou went for the 1 year thing... It explains why they havent tried to get a deal done until last minute.

But... Why is everyone so calm and confident now that we will sign him long-term next season and all? Are we SURE that the shares will be sold and that were gonna be solid financially and everything? Until then its still looking pretty bad... If the moves we saw yesterday were really to save us hard money and not to prepare a deal well were in more trouble than we may think....

Hot herbal tea does wonders for the nerves....

But seriously, we've seen (3) major moves happen within the last 7 days:

This is a lot of activity. I think it unlikely that if LL knew he was going to have to save money for money's sake he would have waited until now to do these deals. Why not waive White weeks ago? Why not sign ZP weeks ago for that price. He really has no idea yet what he's truly dealing with relative to rookie D-men yet until we get to a true camp to entrust the blueline to highly-touted prospects who have never seen 20 minutes a night.

I believe that a move is afoot. Its consistent with the message LL has been sending: "Add but first subtract", "Address the mobility of the defense...". I also believe the low one-year deal was to allow space to accomodate this move WHILE allowing a better evaluation of ZP, his health,.... and for ZP to assess his own situation.

Without getting too preachy - this 21st century TWITTER/Instant Download/Instant Gratification mentality has taught people "I need to know NOW!" and has lessened our patience as a generation I believe as is evident by a lot of this internet "outrage". We all need to relax.

But that aside, I'm giving Lou at least 2 weeks to see what his plan is.

I refuse to believe he's ending his GM Career and tenure trusting the franchise to a group of rookie defensman (along with a concussion victim), while Parise stamps a plane ticket for LA/MIN/wherever .... while Lou himself rides off into the sunset with his HF career tarnished by allowing his beloved franchise to sink like the Titanic.

the devils no longer have anything to trade for a defenseman who's worthwhile. the only thing they have left is urbom.

why wait until now with ZP? they waited until the last minute before briefs had to be exchanged detailing what was to be said in arbitration (had zach not signed that deal, those briefs would have been exchanged on monday, hat tip to a commenter on ILWT).

why wait until now with white? you have two buyout periods - one in june, after the draft and before free agency, and one that exists 48 hours after an arbitration award or the settlement of an arbitration case. lou tried to trade white and couldn't find any takers (which i just can't believe).

I know it may be unrealistic to say but maybe money is not the driving force behind ZP's decision to stay in NJ. I recognize that there are major external factors, especially with agents wanting their cut, the NHLP wanting the max contract, and ZP wanting to feel respected. Now that being said, could the cultural change in the room be as big a factor as any? The room has taken on the feel of the Swedish Elite League. With the departures of fellow Americans like Langs,Rolston, Martin, Gionta, Mottau and Gomez, I feel that he may be missing that element. Look, ask any player and they will say the friendships and realationships off the ice directly effect how well the team does on the ice. Hockey played at all levels is based on having fun. If ZP feels the current roster isn't living up to a good time, then I think this may be the driving factor behind his departure, especially with long time fixtures like Whitey gone and possibly Brodeur soon. If any of you guys have foreign friends you know just how big the cultural differences are, let alone the language barrier, especialy if half the room is speaking Swedish. So, as silly as it sounds, if any moves are to be made, I'd look for an American to be added or for ZP to find a team that can offer what he is looking for.

I know it may be unrealistic to say but maybe money is not the driving force behind ZP's decision to stay in NJ. I recognize that there are major external factors, especially with agents wanting their cut, the NHLP wanting the max contract, and ZP wanting to feel respected. Now that being said, could the cultural change in the room be as big a factor as any? The room has taken on the feel of the Swedish Elite League. With the departures of fellow Americans like Langs,Rolston, Martin, Gionta, Mottau and Gomez, I feel that he may be missing that element. Look, ask any player and they will say the friendships and realationships off the ice directly effect how well the team does on the ice. Hockey played at all levels is based on having fun. If ZP feels the current roster isn't living up to a good time, then I think this may be the driving factor behind his departure, especially with long time fixtures like Whitey gone and possibly Brodeur soon. If any of you guys have foreign friends you know just how big the cultural differences are, let alone the language barrier, especialy if half the room is speaking Swedish. So, as silly as it sounds, if any moves are to be made, I'd look for an American to be added or for ZP to find a team that can offer what he is looking for.

Zajac is still there and most Swedes speak perfect english. I think the Devils are the one team you can't accuse of "discriminating against Americans"